Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection Part 1

Charles Darwin
How many species of birds can you name? Robins, penguins, and chickens are a few. There are about 10,000
species of birds on Earth today. Each species has wings, feathers, and beaks. Scientists hypothesize that all birds
evolved from an earlier, or ancestral, group of birdlike organisms. As this group evolved into different species, birds
developed different sizes, colors, songs, and ways of eating. Yet, they kept their key bird traits.

How do species evolve? Charles Darwin, a scientist, worked to answer this question. Darwin was an English
naturalist who, in the mid-1800s, developed a theory of how evolution works. A naturalist is a person who studies
plants and animals by observing them. Darwin spent years studying plants and animals in nature before developing
his theory. Recall that a theory is an explanation of the natural world that is well supported by evidence. Darwin’s
theory of evolution was not the first, but his theory is the one best supported by evidence today

Voyage of the Beagle

Darwin worked as a naturalist on the HMS Beagle, a ship of the British navy. During his trip around the world,
Darwin observed and collected many plants and animals.

The Galápagos Islands

Darwin was interested in the organisms he saw on the Galápagos (guh LAH puh gus) Islands. These islands are
1,000 km off the South American coast in the Pacific Ocean. Darwin saw that each island had a slightly different
environment. Some were dry. Some were more humid. Others had mixed environments.
Tortoises Darwin saw that the giant tortoises on each island looked different. On one island, tortoises had shells
that came close to their necks. They could eat only short plants. On other islands, tortoises had more space
between the shell and neck. They could eat taller plants.
Mockingbirds and Finches Darwin was also curious about the different mockingbirds and finches he saw. Like the
tortoises, different types of mockingbirds and finches lived in different island environments. Later, he was surprised
to find that many were different enough to be separate species.

Darwin’s Theory
Darwin discovered a relationship between each species and the food found on the island where it lived. Tortoises
with long necks lived on islands that had tall cacti. Their long necks made it possible for them to reach high to eat
the cacti. The tortoises with short necks lived on islands that had plenty of short grass.

Common Ancestors
Darwin became convinced that all the tortoise species were related. He thought they all shared a common
ancestor. He suggested that millions of years before, a storm had carried a group of tortoises to one of the islands
from South America. In time, the tortoises spread to the other islands. Their neck lengths and shell shapes
changed to match their islands’ food sources. How did this happen?

Variations
Darwin knew that individual members
of a species have slight differences, or
variations. A variation is a slight
difference in the appearance of
individual members of a species.
Variations arise naturally in populations.
They occur in the offspring as a result of
sexual reproduction. You might recall
that variations are caused by random
mutations, or changes, in genes.
Mutations can lead to changes in
phenotype. Recall that an organism’s
phenotype is all of the observable traits
and characteristics of the organism.
Genetic changes to phenotype can be
passed onto future generations.

Natural Selection
Darwin did not know about genes. But he saw that variations were the key to how evolution worked. He knew that
there was not enough food on each island to feed every tortoise that was born. Tortoises had to compete for food.
As the tortoises spread to the different islands, some were born with random variations in neck length. If a
variation helped a tortoise compete for food, the tortoise lived longer than other tortoises without the variation.
Because it lived longer, it reproduced more. It passed on the helpful variation to its offspring.

This is Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection. Natural selection is the process by which populations
of organisms with variations that help them survive in their environments live longer, compete better, and
reproduce more than those that do not have the variations. Natural selection explains how Galápagos tortoises
became matched to their food sources, as shown below. It also explains why there were so many different kinds of
Galápagos finches and mockingbirds. Birds with beak variations that helped them compete for food lived longer
and reproduced more.
Vocabulary
Word or Term Definition from the Definition in your own Picture or Illustration
Book words

Naturalist A naturalist is a person A person who studies

who studies plants and living things in their
animals by observing natural habitat is called
them. a naturalist.

Variation A variation is a slight A variation is a

difference in the difference in individuals
appearance of in a species that is
individual members of caused by genetic
a species. variation or
environmental factors.
Natural Selection Natural selection is the Natural selection is a
process by which process that picks an
populations of individual in a species
organisms with that is best fit to survive
variations that help in their environment
them survive in their because of their unique
environments live characteristics, and thus
longer, compete better, has the greatest fitness
and reproduce more of their species in that
than those that do not specific environment.
have the variations.

Who was Charles Darwin?

Darwin was an English naturalist who, in the mid-1800s, developed a theory of how evolution works. He
was thus known as the Father of Evolution.

What in the Galapagos Islands did Darwin observe that got him thinking about evolution?
Tortoises got Darwin thinking about evolution. Darwin saw that the giant tortoises on each island looked
different. On one island, tortoises had shells that came close to their necks. They could eat only short
plants. On other islands, tortoises had more space between the shell and neck. They could eat taller
plants.

In looking at Darwin’s Theory, there are three key points to consider. What are they?
Common Ancestor Variations Natural selection

What did Darwin believe about the ancestors of the tortoises he saw on the Galapagos Islands?
Darwin became convinced that all the tortoise species were related. He thought they all shared a
common ancestor. He suggested that millions of years before, a storm had carried a group of tortoises
to one of the islands from South America. In time, the tortoises spread to the other islands. Their neck
lengths and shell shapes changed to match their islands’ food sources.

What is meant by variations when talking about organisms?

A variation is a slight difference in the appearance of individual members of a species.

Why are tortoises with the longer necks better able to survive on the island?
The tortoises with longer necks were able to reach the tall cacti and thus eat more food than the short
necked tortoises. This allowed them to reproduce and live longer than the short ones.

What may have happened to the short neck tortoises that were on the island?
The short necked tortoises that couldn’t reach the tall cati either migrated to other islands with short
food or they died out.
How did Darwin come up with his ideas about natural selection?
When Darwin was studying tortoises, he found out that if a variation helped a tortoise compete for food,
the tortoise lived longer than other tortoises without the variation. Because it lived longer, it reproduced
more. It passed on the helpful variation to its offspring.